Waking up at 4 AM and jumping into a cold pool of water isn’t what most people would consider fun. However, this was a big part of my routine while swimming competitively in high school. I participated in these early morning practices to train for swimming competitions. I had to learn how to improve my technique and keep a competitive mindset, all during those early morning hours.
Now that I am a retired athlete, I can see the real-world application of the lessons I learned while being a competitive swimmer. Here are some ways that swimming has helped me understand marketing in a real-world context:
Be efficient.
Learning how to swim is hard, but learning how to swim fast is treacherous. I learned during my eight years of swimming that technique was everything. It wasn’t just a matter of swimming hard but also swimming with good technique. That’s why training was so important to perfect my strokes so I could be faster. The point of making my strokes as perfect as possible was to make me swim more efficiently.
Good technique is all about efficiency. Just like in swimming, efficiency gets the job done well. Marketing is all about the promotion of a product and driving customer traffic. In the same way that my coach would point out specific technique flaws that I may need to improve, a marketing manager may also seek out specific inefficiencies in a company to improve upon.
It’s all about the competition.
Competing is the fun part of being on the swim team. After putting so much work and effort into practice, I could finally see it pay off. Swimming taught me to be the best that I could possibly be. When I would prepare for a competition, my goal was to be the absolute best version of myself to compete against my fellow athletes.
This is very similar to the real world. Companies don’t just exist by themselves, but they are constantly competing against other companies to fight for customers and growth. Having a competitive mindset is incredibly important in the growth of a company. Part of marketing is to find a way to be the absolute best version of the company’s values.
Find solutions to the problems you face.
The main focus of training and practice was to find solutions for problems that I, as a swimmer, was facing. This included finding solutions to both mindset and technique problems. When my coach pointed out an inefficiency in my technique or a negative mindset, he taught me how to correct myself and get back on the right track. He taught me how to find solutions to the problems I was facing and handle constructive critiques
This can be true in the marketing world too. Finding solutions to a problem the company is facing is a huge and impactful value. The only way a company can grow is to get better and the only way to get better is to find solutions to issues that the company may be facing.
…
I remember back in high school, standing with my toes at the end of the pool, looking down at the cold pool. I would hold my breath and take a leap of faith as my body plunged into the icy water. The training was hard, but I gained lifelong lessons and real-world values.
How these skills apply to marketing
These real-world values correlate directly with the marketing world. I learned how to work efficiently, how to compete ferociously, and how to find solutions to the problems I was facing.
If you want to truly thrive in a marketing role, these are the most important skills to remember:
Always stay committed to efficiency.
Keep a competitive mindset.
Seek out solutions to problems.
Always have a growth mindset!
Contact me if you want to see how I am able to put these real-world values into action!
Comments